You may remember some time back I talked about being posted out of my current role and division here. And I realized I never quite update anything on that since.

Well a career conversation talk happened with my boss following that post. During which he affirmed his support probably because I pledged to be back one day because this is my passion - and that’s true. I have always said that this was my dream job when I graduated and literally the reason why I tolerated Civil Engineering to begin with given how much I hated Physics (and structures, shudder). And quite honestly it’s about damn time I go out and see the world (maybe steal some trade secrets along the way) and come back to put that into good use.

So I submitted the career planning form with my boss’s endorsement and...it went silent for about half a year. Which was kind of surprising because they did told us we will be updated on the results by April. Not that I had a lot of time to ponder about it anyway.

In June or was it July I think, out of the blue I got another email asking if my choices had changed and I should go for another talk with my bosses to affirm their support. Which came at a correct timing because we had just undergone another re-org at that point and both my SM/DD got promoted to DD/D respectively, so I had to check in with my new DD. Who was genuinely supportive because that was exactly what he went through professionally, except that his venturing out was more extreme in a sense that he actually packed up his family and left the country, spent a number of years at a couple of locations overseas, before returning. Ok I don’t see myself doing that now but well...never say never.

So anyway the D or my former DD wasn’t as supportive this time round because things happen within this half a year. People resign, and he found that he needed me or at least, he needed to be assured that I can be adequately replaced. To quote him, we are his pillars and when one pillar is gone, it needs to be replaced or the structure will collapse. Ok wow. And the conclusion is that I will relay back the message that while my D is supportive, he would like to have a word with them. 

Couple of months passed by again and when I didn’t hear anything I just assumed that my boss had betrayed me lol and blocked it. Not that I was completely not okay with staying, just that it would be disappointing if that was the manner of how it happened.

Then out of the blue (again, because I don’t have the habit of regularly checking with them for updates, “them” being HR), got a email that outright confirmed my first choice posting and posting date. Okayyy.

So that begins a 9 month countdown starting from September (I suspect that it was that long because my D negotiated for it, otherwise it would have been April or even October this year) which, frankly speaking, is a very advanced notice. Almost don’t feel any urgency to start handing over stuff because it’s so far in advance. Only thing is that I had to start to push through succession plans, which I do have been thinking about for some time. And once in a while there will be this bout of realizations like “oh, this is my last DnD with this bunch” or more recently, “oh this is my last Christmas with this bunch”.

But to be honest it’s a good timeline because from my RAG project standpoint (which literally defines my work year this year, and probably last year too), it would have been a time when a lot of things are already in motion and it would be about management at that point in time. So good that I have at least laid the foundations before I go.

Meanwhile, I have been trying really hard to not talk about it (exception here because nobody reads this, or so I thought) because like I said last year, which I still duno if it’s logical or not, there’s something about affecting morale of the team lol. But of course word spread. I wonder how HMMMM. I wonder if that talk I had with my new SM had anything to do with it huh? Even if I explicitly told her I didn’t intend to tell anybody and she agreed that I shouldn’t? Hmm? Then the next day someone else asked me who is gonna take over my RAG project because she heard from my SM hmm? *rolls eyes* And my ex-M (basically everybody above my level knows, not blaming them because it’s something they should discuss about), not one to keep secrets, had been letting out hints to random people sigh. So much for trying to keep it under the wraps.

So does my destination division because they have talked about it at their end too, according to my sources lol. Crossing fingers and hoping that I don’t end up working under the specific D/DD I had issues with (at least on my end). Erm about 1 in 3 probability so fingers crossed.

So next year will be interesting. Already planning for a holiday prior to that, somewhat like a holiday in between jobs lol to rejuvenate.

Hoping for the best.

Labels: thoughts, work